2015 Dussmann Trophy Recap

2015 Dussmann Trophy Recap

Sep 07,2015

Ireland's U16 Men and Women enjoyed trophy winning performances at the 2015 Dussmann Trophy. The U16 Women's squad went 3-0 to take home the top prize in the girls' competition while the U16 Men received a runners' up award for their performance.

Ireland’s U16 Women overpowered Austria 67-31 to claim the International Dussmann Cup in Mersch, Luxembourg. Andy Gill’s side went 3-0 in the tournament after an opening day win over hosts Luxembourg and upsetting ‘A’ Championships side the Netherlands 67-60.

Sunday’s win over Austria was their 13th in a row ahead of competing in Division ‘B’ of the European Championships in Macedonia this August.

Luxembourg were restricted to just 11 points in the opening period as Ireland applied a full-court press to take control of the game. With the score at 51-20 heading into the final quarter, the full bench was given court time and eleven players ended up on the score sheet.

Louise Scannell had the game high with 15 points while Claire Melia hit double figures for rebounds for the third game in a row. Ireland forced 33 turnovers and claimed 16 steals throughout the 40 minutes.

Head Coach Andy Gill said: "Austria had beaten Luxembourg so this was a game we couldn't take lightly. Today was about proving that we could maintain the same level of intensity and competitiveness.

"We struggled to put the ball in the basket in the first half but displayed far better control and decision making in the second half. This has been an excellent experience for this group of players and we hope we can carry this momentum into the European Championships."

Ireland produced a stunning 29 point final quarter to come from behind and beat the Netherlands in Game Two of the Dussmann 2015 Trophy. The 69-60 win extends the U16 Squad’s winning streak to 12 games.

The Netherlands had a stronger presence on the boards in the early exchanges and held the edge 11-13 for the opening quarter. Once again it took Ireland until the second quarter to fully exert their high intensity approach. Claire Melia had eight points and eight rebounds by half time with the score at 29-27.

Ireland looked in trouble in the third quarter. Their ‘A’ Championships opponents used their strength-in-depth to hit a barrage of points off the bench and lead 47-41 with 10 minutes to go.

Andy Gill’s side went straight to work in gaining parity. Rachel Huijsdens and Louise Scannell converted a trio of fast breaks before Huijsdens levelled matters with a layup and eight minutes remaining. The Netherlands nudged out another lead but an 18-4 run in the final six minutes saw Ireland home.

Ireland were only marginally head of the Netherlands on 53.8% accuracy from the free-throw line but Sorcha Tiernan drained 4/4 down the stretch. She also hit a pair of three-pointers while Claire Melia completed a double-double and Dayna Finn was credited with five assists.

Head Coach Andy Gill said: "We faced our stiffest test so far and once again this teams character, pride and determination shone through. We took this game one quarter at a time and set performance targets that we thought were manageable. We weren't concerned with the the final result but played the game "in the moment" ball by ball, play by play. The squad are of course very happy but also realise that we have another tough game to play tomorrow morning."

Ireland fended off a dogged display from Luxembourg to come through their opening game of the Dussmann Trophy to win 67-60. Luxembourg opened up an early 8-4 lead on the break and another Vujakovic fast-break put the hosts up 18-10 for the first quarter. "The beginning was tough," said Louise Scannell. "We were nervous and that showed in our turnovers but when we settled and retained possession, we began to threaten."

Ireland began to settle and started forcing turnovers in the second period. Sorcha Tiernan’s layup off an Amy Dooley assist capped a 9-1 run as Ireland took the lead with four minutes to the half. It was 28-26 at half time but Ireland pulled clear in the third – Masterson and Huijsdens layups put 10 points between the sides and it was 47-40 with 10 minutes to go.

It was all-square at 54-54 with five minutes left. Luxembourg however could only manage one offensive rebound before the final buzzer while Rachel Huijsdens took her total to 19 points on a double-double. Claire Melia had 14 points and 15 rebounds while Dayna Finn finished the game with six steals.

Head Coach Andy Gill said: “Welcome to European Basketball - the first quarter score told the tale of our inability to handle full court pressure and throw the ball away at regular intervals. Even though it was definitely one of our poorer performances we were able to show an excellent degree of composure when it mattered. We all know Netherlands tomorrow will be a sterner test but we are looking forward to another game against a team on the European A Championships.”

Ireland’s U16 Men have rounded out their Dussmann Cup experience with a 70-57 win over hosts Luxembourg. Today’s game was a friendly to follow up from their runners’ up performance in the competition proper. The squad now move onto to Portugal for more European Championship warm-up games in Lisbon on Thursday.

After a number of abrasive games in the Dussmann Trophy, Ireland were without the services of David Murray who sustained a broken nose against Tunisia. Sean Jenkins was brought in the starting line up while Adam Donoghue and Donal Ring led the scoring for the opening quarter which finished 14-14.

Luxembourg moved seven points clear in the second period and led 31-24 at half time. Q3 had been Ireland’s weakest throughout the Dussmann Cup, but Head Coach Paul Kelleher ensured his troops came out fired up from the half-time break. A big three from Padraig Nulty and some consistent free-throwing from Adam Drummond ensured the Irish were back level at 48-48 heading down the stretch.

It was time for Ireland to power home. Sean Jenkins had power and pace to burn in getting to the basket while a brace of three-pointers helped to push out the margin.

Ireland’s novel pairing with Tunisia in the 2015 Dussmann Cup went to overtime, where Ireland’s strength-in-depth was exposed and Tunisia came through 75-67. Head Coach Paul Kelleher had a number of walking wounded among the ranks and was only able to field 10 players in the final game of the competition.

Ireland were the better side throughout the opening quarters. A late buzzer beater from Ryan Whoriskey gave them a 15-12 lead for the opening quarter. Oisin O’Reilly’s three-pointer put the lead out to six points before Adam Drummond maintained the gap from the free throw line as Ireland led 32-26 at the half.

Sluggishness in the third quarter again proved the undoing as Tunisia powered ahead to lead 43-41 heading into the final quarter. The game appeared to be slipping from Ireland’s grasp as Tunisia led by three points with just 55 second remaining but it was the North Africans who had to force overtime at 59 apiece - Adam Drummond landed a couple of layups and Adam Donoghue made both his free-throws with 10 seconds left.

It look as if momentum would favour the Irish in overtime as Tunisia had to play on without the influential Tabben but they soon opened a six-point lead. Adam Donoghue and Donal Ring combined to peg them back but Tunisia went on to score the last six points of the game.

Head Coach Paul Kelleher said: "We saw our strengths and our weaknesses in that game. We need to do a better job of understanding discipline. What we had in regulation, we lost in overtime and became individualised.

"The positive is that we know the right way and the wrong way to push on now."

Ireland’s U16 Men suffered their first defeat of the Dussmann Cup in going down 76-61 to the Netherlands in Luxembourg. The Irish were more than a match down the stretch but were overpowered in the middle quarters.

Ireland’s brightest spell of the first 20 minutes came after seven minutes of play. Trailing by a point, Donal Ring unleashed a three-pointer and made a free-throw before Sean Jenkins hit 2/2 from the line and Oisin O’Reilly rounded out the quarter from beyond the arc. It was a 9-0 run to put them 18-10 ahead for the first quarter.

The stats were not in Ireland’s favour for the half. The Netherlands were twice as accurate from two-point range and held a clear advantage in the rebounds column. They also led 33-28 at half time.

It took the Netherlands just five minutes to extend their lead to 20 points in Q3. Cian Heaphy ate into the lead with a put-back and a couple of free-throws but it was Ireland 43-59 Netherlands heading into the final period.

Oisin O’Reilly became Ireland’s first scorer to break double digits with seven minutes remaining and Adam Donoghue and Ryan Whoriskey pulled off some fine perimeters shots but Netherland’s box-score had a winners look to it.

Head Coach Paul Kelleher said: "That was as physical a game as I’ve ever witnessed at this level. We’re bloodied but we worked ourselves to the bone against against a team we’re giving up about four inches a man to. We just let ourselves down again at the start of the third quarter so that’s something we’ll have to work on."

Ireland’s U16 Men got off to a strong start in the 2015 Dussmann trophy with an 89-74 win over hosts Luxembourg. Head Coach Paul Kelleher used all 12 players inside the first seven minutes as Ireland took control of the tempo of the game and a 30 point second quarter made for a 59-39 lead at half time.

Luxembourg came back into the reckoning as Ireland took their foot off the gas in the second half. “It’s a steep learning curve trying to play at the desired tempo for 40 minutes in Europe,” said Kelleher. “We came out flat but we eventually got more aggressive with the ball and with our body movement. We would like to have conceded less but it’s our first game and traditionally it’s always close with Luxembourg.

“Netherlands are up next and they’ve tended to have the upper hand while Tunisia is an exciting prospect for all of us – they’re a big strong athletic African side and they’ll be strong on rebounding, which is something we needed to be better at today,” he said.

Ireland shot 43% from the field with 36 fast-break points and 10 three-pointers from 27 attempts. Oisin O’Reilly led all scorers on 23 points. Adam Drummond had 16 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Sean Jenkins also had five assists while Adam Donoghue had eight rebounds.

The full U16 Men's squad is in Luxembourg for the competition. David Murray picked up a slight ankle injury during the week but is expected to play a full part in the tournament. Liam Chandler's game time will be limited however due to a groin injury.

There are no injuries reported within the U16 Women's travelling party.

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Part of FIBA Europe, the European Governing body, and of FIBA, the World Governing body, B.I. is responsible for the promotion and administration of basketball throughout Ireland and for Irish international participation.